Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 86.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,078 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 3,885.7% in the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 279 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN opened at $190.83 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $182.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.25 and a 12-month high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 34.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Profile

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.